Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs migration department received its first applications for Russian citizenship from former residents of the Crimea and Sevastopol, the ministry press center reported on Monday in a reply to TASS's inquiry.

"Currently, 125 people have turned to the regional offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with these requests," the department said. The department also noted that the review of documents and the decision process takes up to three months. "Until now, these applications were not accepted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Russian passports were not given out," the press service said.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on providing the opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure to several categories of individuals. In particular, this decree concerns Ukrainians who were born and permanently reside in Sevastopol and Crimea and left the peninsula prior to March 18, 2014, as well as persons subjected to illegal deportation from the territory of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Also, in April of this year, Putin signed a decree allowing citizens of Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics to obtain Russian citizenship in a simplified procedure. According to the Ministry, at present the units of the migration service of the Rostov region received 12,000 documents, which will be processed within three months. The first passports made according to the new regulations were given out on June 14.